Peanut or potato digger



Aug. 28, 1945. R. J. MccLENNY PEANUT 0R POTATO DIGGER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed July 27, 1942 Aug. 28,1945. R. J. MCCLENNY 2,383,506

PEANUT OR POTATO DIGGER Filed July 27, 1942 (Sheets-Sheet 2 M \E QM hfxM W/ m 3. v Fm w wk Mm w 1 I! ii n9 Y C vw -w Yr INHWLL W A @u Hm. J qm2 g m3 7 M w b h u v m w I 4 m" mm hm. NM M \Q.\\ hm mm Y m Afig. 28;1945. D R. J McLENNY I 2,383,506

PEANUT OR POTATO DIGGER Filed July 2'7, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 PatentedAug. 28, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PEANUT on POTATO DIGGER RobertJ. McClenny, Palatka, Fla. Application July 27, 1942, Serial No. 452,5157" Claims. (01; 55-110) This invention relates to a'peanut or potatodigging machine and more particularly, to an attachment of thischaracter which may be detachably mounted on a tractor or othersupporting structure.

An object of this invention is to provide an attachment for a tractorwhich is. so constructed that it will dig peanuts or potatoes and at thesame time remove the dirt therefrom.

Another object of this invention is to provide in an attachment of thiskind, a plow or digging member and means connected to the plow ordigging member which is adapted to not only remove the dirt from thearticles, but to also throw the articles in a central row above theground.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved dirtremoving structure which is mounted on therear of the plow or diggingmemher and which is so constructed that it will overturn the articles asthese articles are discharged on top of the ground. I

A still further object of this invention is to provide a structure ofthis kind, wherein the plow structure may be used for either peanut orpotato digging, and the vibratory dirt removing means may be used as anattachment for the plow so that proper vibratory attachment may be usedfor the particular articles which are being removed from the ground.

A further object of this invention is to provide in a structureof thiskind, an improved plow and dirt removing means together with means forsuspending the plow relativeto the tractor and also for leveling theplow in its lowered position so that the plow will move in a horizontalplane at the desired depth in the ground. l

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved vibratorydirt removing and article overturning means which includes an improvedoperator connected to the power take-off of the tractor so that the dirtremoving means can be given the desired vibratory motion.

A further object of this invention is to provide a structure of thiskind, wherein the degree of vibration may be varied or adjusted at willso as to vibrate the articles which are removed from the groundsufficiently to remove the dirt adhering thereto;

To the foregoing objects and to others which may hereinafter appear, theinvention consists of the novel construction, combination andarrangement of parts as will-be more specifically referred to andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein are shown embodiments'of the invention, but it is to be understood that changes,- variationsand modificationsmay be. resorted to which fall Within the scope of theinvention as claimed.

In the drawings: 5

Figure 1 is a detail side elevation of a tractor, partly broken away,having an attachment constructed according to an embodiment of thisinvention mounted thereon,

Figure 2' is a detail top plan of the attachment, portions of theattachment being broken away,

Figure 3 is a detail front elevation of the tractor and the forward endof the attachment, 7 Figure 4 is a plan View partly in section andpartly broken away of one of the combined digging and dirt removingmembers,

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4,

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6,-6 of Figure 1, v

Figure 7 is a detail front elevation partly broken away of one of theplow members,

Figure 8 is a fragmentary rear elevation of "the tractor showing theconnection between the vibratory operating means and the power take-off,Figure 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 9--9 of Figure 8,

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken on the line l0-l0 of Figure 9,

Figure 11 is a sectional view taken on the line l|--ll of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l5 designates generally the frameof a tractor and the letter E designates the engine, which is mounted onthe frame l0, and operatively connected to the rear wheels-I6 of thetractor through a rear axle structure IT. A pair of plow members I8 andH] are disposed beneath the frame structure l5 and the plow members I8and [9 are disposed in forwardly divergentrrelation with their innerconvergent ends spaced apart beneath substantially the center" of the.tractor frame- I0. The plow memberl8 includes a blade structure 20which, as shown in Figure 5, is substantially V-shaped in transversesection, and a rearwardly extending landside 2| is formed with the bladestructure 20 and extends rearwardly fromthe forward end of the bladestructure 20 and in parallel relation with the frame [5.

A laterally projecting lug 22 is carried by the landside 2| and a plowsupporting foot 23 is secured to the lug 22 by fastening devices 24, asshown in Figure 6. The plow supporting foot 23 is carried by andprojects inwardly from the lower end of a vertical beam part 25. A plowbeam member 26 is disposed at oneside of the frame l5 and preferablyslightly below the frame and is provided at its rear end with anoutwardly projecting arcuate extension 21 which is formed integral withthe rear end of the beam 26 and is also integral with the upper end ofthe upright 25. A plow beam supporting shaft 28 is disposed at theforward end of the frame I and extends transversely thereof, thesupporting shaft or member 28 being mounted in bushings 29 carried by apair of forwardly projecting angle bars 30 which are fixed to theopposite sides of the frame I5 at the forward'end thereof and,detachably secured to the frame l5 by fastening devices 3|.

A sleeve 32 is loosely mounted on the shaft 28;

laterally of the supporting member 30 and a pair of rearwardlyprojecting convergent draw bars 33 and 34 are fixed at their forwardendsto the. sleeve 32. The draw bars 33 and 34 at their rear orconvergent ends are mounted on a-pin '35 carried by an upstanding lug 36which is fixed to the rear portion of the plow beam 26. A sleeve .31 isalso mounted on the shaft or supporting member 328 inwardly of thesleeve 32 and an arm 38 is fixed to the sleeve 31. A link39 is pivotallyconnected at one end as by a pivot 40 to the arm 38 and the link 39 ispivotally connected as by a pivot bolt 41 to the forward end of the plowbeam 26. l

The arm '38 comprises a plow levelling arm which is adapted to raise orlower the forward end of the beam .26 so as to thereby adjust theinclinationof the plow l3.. A second arm-42 is fixed to the sleeve 31and the forward end of a plow levelling link 43 is pivotally mounted asat 44 on the upper end of the arm v42. A hand lever 45 is disposed atthe rear of the frame structure |5 being mounted on a pivot 46 which is"disposed axially of a toothed quadrant 41 carried by a supporting plate48 which is fixed .to the flat upper surface 49 of. the axle structure11 by means of bolts or fastening devices 150.

A spring-pressed locking dog 5| is carried by the hand lever 45 andconnected by a link 52 to a pawl operating lever 53 which is pivotallycar- ,ried by the upper portion of the hand lever 45. The rear end ofthe levelling link 43 is pivotally connected as at 54 to the lever 45. I

The plow structure I8 is adapted to "be raised to an inoperativeposition or lowered to an .operative position by means of a vertically.disposed rod 55 which at its lower end is pivotally mounted on the pin35. A bell crank 56 is rockably mounted on an outstanding support 51 andthe support51 is secured to the frame l5 by a supporting plate 58. Theforward or lifting leg 59 of the bell crank 56 is provided with a fork60 within which the rod 55 is received and the rod 55 is provided withan upper collar 6] and a lower collar 62 between which the fork 66engages. The two collars 6| and 62 may be adjusted lengthwise of thelifting rod '55 to the desired position so that the plow |8 may beelevated to the desired point upon rocking of the bell crank 56. A plowelevating or lowering hand lever 63 is rockably mounted on a pivot 64carried by atoothed quadrant 65 carried by the plate 48 laterally andforwardly of the quadrant 41. i

The bell crank 56 is connected to the hand lever 63 by means of a link66 which at its forward end is pivotally connected as at 61 tothe secondleg 68 of the bell crank 56. A spring-pressed dog or pawl '69 is carriedby "the hand lever 63 and engages 'the'tee'th of the quadrant 65. A dogoperator or lever 1.0 is .pivotally carried by the hand lever '63adjacent the upper end thereof and the hand lever 10 is connected bymeans of a link 1| to the dog or pawl 69.

The plow member l8 has operatively associated therewith a combined dirtremoving and article throwing structure generally designated as 12. Thecombined dirt removing and article throwing structure 12 comprises aplurality of parallel tines or bars 13 which at their rear portions 14are curved upwardly. The bars or tines 13 are fixed to a tubular .shaft15 which .is rockably mounted on a boltfliengaging through .anjear 11carried by the plow l8 and the bolt 16 is threaded into a boss -;-1B onthe outer portion of the plow I8.

The tubular rock shaft 15 is disposed between the divergent sides of theblade 20 so that the articles loosened and removed by means of the blade2|] will pass over the rear end of the blade .26 and slide over the bars13. The bars 13 are preferably braced by means of bracing members 19which are fixed to the forward portions of the bars 13-:and also,fixed'as by welding or the like to .the tubular shaft 15. The bars 14are spaced .apart a suflicient distance .so, that the articles removedby the plow .8 will not drop therebetween, whereas any loosened dirt,may readily drop between the bars 13. Thesebars 1 3 are also arrangedin progression with an inner bar 13 being provided-with a lower arcuateportion 14 than a succeeding bar 13, the outerbar 13 being substantiallyhigher than the inner bar 13 so that when the dirt removing and rowforming structure 12 is vibrated, the material will be given an inwardmovement so as to dispose the material in a row above thegroun'd andsubstantially beneath the center of the frame structure 4-5.

A rearwardly extending shaker arm is fixed to the rock shaft 15andex-tends rearwardlythenefrom and is provided with an extension 6|which engages over the top of the landside 2|. A bell crank 82 isrockably mounted on a pin 83 carried by a pair of upstanding ears 84which are fixed to the :outer portion of the extension 21 in a positionsubstantially above the upright .25. One leg'85 of the bell crank 62;isconnected to the extension .81 by means of alink 86,, the link '86zhaVing at its lower end .acoupling 61 engaging the .outer end of theextension 8|,

The link 86 at its upper end is provided w.ith a coupling '88 engagingthe bell crank, legj85 and preferably the coupling r-B8,.is in' the formof a bifurcated coupling, whereas the coupling 31 may be a ball andsocket coupling. A bell crank operator link 89 is provided :at'its rearend with a bifurcated portion .90 and a pin 1H engages through thebi-fmcatedv portion 66 and also through a second -leg .62 of thebellcrmi-k 32..

A rock shaft :93 is disposed alt-the forward end of the framed-5, theshaft 93 being .rookably mounted in bearing sleeves 64 carried by thesupporting members '36 forwardly -;of the sleeve 28. The shaft 93 hassecured-thereto laterally or outwardly from the bearing sleeve 84..anupstandingarm .95, and the forward-end sot-the link 89 is providedwith a bifurcated portion 66. between tending arms I carriedbyconnecting members IOI each provided' at the opposite ends thereof'with a pair of sleeves I02 and I03 which engage the shafts 28 and 93,respectively.

I Thezshaft 93 is rockably mounted in the sleeve I03, whereas theshaft28 maybe fixed in the sleeve. I02- A forwardly projecting arm I04projects forwardly of the sleeve I03 and a bracing rod I05 is secured atone end to the arm I04. The opposite or inner end of the rod IN ismounted in an extension I06 carried by the supporting member 30. AtierodI01 engages between thetwo extensions I06 of the supporting members 30and this tie rod is fixed to the extensions I06 by means of locked nutsI08 and I09 so that the supporting members 30 may be fixed to tractorframes of varying widths.

An arm I I0 is fixed to a sleeve or bushing III which is keyed orotherwise fixed to the agitator shaft 93 at one side of the framestructure I5. The arml I0 is provided with an elongated slot I I2 andthe forward end of an agitator link I I3 is adjustably secured to thearm H0 by means of a pivot bolt I I4. The rear end of theagitator linkH3.is rockablyemounted between a pair of spaced apart bars -I I5, therear end of the link H3 being pivotally mounted on a pivot bolt II6'engaging through the twobars H5. The bars II5 are rockably supportedfrom a rearwardly projecting supporting arm II'I which is carried by aplate 48a on-the side of the machine opposite from the plate 48. s Arotary shaft H8 is rotatably carried by a bearing H9 dependinglysupported below the bar or arm H1, and the shaft H8 has fixed thereto asprocket I20. A driving chain I2! is trained aboutthe sprocket I20 andalso about a driving sprocket I22 which is fixed to a power take-offshaft I23 forming part of the tractor structure. A cam plate I24 isfixed to the shaft I I8, being provided with a cam lobe I25 which isadapted to engage the rear edges of the two rock levers H5 so as to rocktheselevers H5 and pull the link H3 rearwardly. .The bearing H9 ispreferably secured to the plate 4011 by means of a plateIZB and anextension I2! is formed with the plate I26 and engages .beneath the axlehousing structure I1 and is secured by a fastening device I28.

It will be understood that the supporting structure for the plow I9 isof the same character as that for the plow I8, and the description ofthe supporting structure for the plow I8 including the levelling andelevating means will apply equally as well to the plow I9. The two plowsI8 and I9 are preferably provided with a forwardly projecting nose I29and I30 which projects forwardly of the blade 20 and substantially inline with the landslide 2I.

In the use and operation of the digging and re forming attachment shownin Figures 1 to 11 inclusive, the shafts 28 and 93 are supported by thesupporting bar 9399 at the forward'end of the frame I0 and by means ofthe supporting members 30 which are fixed to the sides of the frame I5at the forward end thereof. The two plates 48 and 48a are fixed to theupper side of the axle structure I1, and the driven sprocket I20 isconnected by the flexible member or chain I2I to the driving sprocketI22 carried by the power take-off shaft I23. The tractor is operated inthe usual manner with the two plows I8 and I9 engaging a pair of rows ofpotatoes, peanuts or the like, and by positioning the two plows I8 andI9 beneath the frame I5, the operator can readily see the condition ofthe material being removed from the ground and can readily see how thestructure is operating.

The plows I8; and I9 are lowered .toan operative position by means ofthe lever 63 and when the plows I8 and I9 are lowered to the desireddepth, they may be leveled by meansof the leveling lever 45. This lever45 will raise or lower the beam 26 so as to maintain the plows I8 and I9in the desired position beneath the ground. Coincident with the forwardmovement of th plows I8 and I9, the agitating members and row formingmembers I2 will be vertically rocked by means of the cam lobe I25. Inthis manner, the

dirt adhering to the potatoesor peanuts will be shaken off and willdropdown rearwardly of the plows I8 and I9, and the peanut plants orpotatoes will be thrown toward the center of the tractor structurebeneath the frame I5. It will be noted that the inner' convergent endsof the two plows I8 and I9 are spaced apart a slight distance so thatthese plows will not turn up any dirt at the-point where the row isbeing formed of the removed potatoes or peanuts which are discharged ontop of the ground.

WhatI claim is: I

1. In a tractor having a power take-off, a combined digger and dirtremoving attachment, comprising-a plow member of V-shape contour intransverse section, means supporting said member from the tractor, aplurality of substantially parallel shaker bars, bracing means betweensaid bars, a tubular member secured to the forward ends of said bars,means arranged within and connected to the plow member and extendingthrough said tubular member rockably mounting said shaker bars on saidplow member, and means connecting said tubular member with said powertakeoff,-

2. In a tractor having a power take-off, a combined digger, dirtremoving and material piling attachment comprising a plow member, 'means40 for lowering the plow member to operative posicomprising a pluralityof substantially parallel bars extending rearwardly of said plow memberand formed with upwardly curved rear portions, atubular bearing membercommon to and secured to the forward ends of said bars, means fixed tosaid plow member and extending through said tubular member for pivotallyconnecting the latter to the plow member, and means connecting saidtubular member to said power take-off, said bars being so positionedrelative to said plow member as to force the material laterally of theplow member.

3. An attachment for a tractor comprising a pair of plow membersdisposed in forwardly divergent relation beneath the frame of thetractor, the rear convergent ends of said members being disposed inspaced apart relation, a vertical beam part secured to each plow member,a plow beam member connected to each beam part and extending forwardlytherefrom, a transversely disposed stationary shaft, means fixedlysecuring said shaft to the tractor frame with the ends of said shaftextended laterally from the sides of the tractor frame, a pair ofsleeves rockable on said shaft and disposed one adjacent to each side ofthe tractor frame, a pair of rearwardly convergent draw-bar arrangedadjacent each side of the tractor frame and fixed at their forward endsto one of said sleeves, a pair of pivot means for pivotally securing therear ends of the pairs of draw-bars with the said plow beam members,means connected to each of said pivot means and connected to the tractorframe for elevating or lowering a plow beam member to vertically adjusta plow member, a .secondpair'of sleeves carried by saidshaft inwardlyof-the said othersleeves,

a pair :of upstanding divergent arms carried .by "5 each .ofsaid secondsleeves, a link'pivotally .con-

member from the tractor, meansifor maintaining,

said plow member in vertically adjusted position, a shaker meansincluding a plurality of substantially parallel bars pivotally carried"by said plow member, an arm fixed to said shaker means, a bell crank,means pivotally supporting said bell crank, means connecting said bellcrank with said arm, a rock shaft, means pivotallysupporting said rockshaft, an arm fixed to said shaft,'rneans connecting said latter arrntosaid bell crank, a slotted arm to said shaft, a connecting rod pivotallysecured at one end to said'slo-tted arm, a counter-shaft, meansrotatably supporting said countershaft, a cam member --carried by saidcountershaft, a depending rock lever-disposed in a position forengagement with saidcam member, means securing the other end of saidconnecting rod to said lever, and means connecting said countershaftwith the tractor power takeff i i '5. An attachment for a tractorcomprising a F pair of rearwardly convergent plow members, spaced meansfor connection to said members and to the tractor frame forindependently swingably supporting said members with the inner ends ofthe members disposed beneath the tractor frame in spaced relation,spaced means connected to said members and for connection to the tractorframe for selectively elevating-or lowerin-g said members, a pair ofshaker means, each of said shaker means pivotally supported by andextended rearwardly "from a plow member, a common operating means forsaidpa'ir of shaker aesasoc means, and means for connecting :said commonoperating .means with a power take-of! of the tractor.

6. An attachment .for .atractor comprising a pair of rearwardlyconvergent plow members,

spaced means connected with said members and with the tractor rrame forindependently swingably supporting said members from the tractor framewith the inner ends or said members disposed beneath the tractor frame,spaced means connected with said members and with the tractor frame forselectively raising or lowering said plow members, a pair :of shakermeans each :including a plurality of :spaced bars, each of said shakermeans being carried by and extending rearwardiy from a. plow member, acommon operating means for said pair of shaker means, means forconnecting said common operating means for th'e pair of shaker means tothepower take-01f of the tractor, each of said bars being provided withupwardly curved rear portions, and each of said shaker means includingbraces arranged between the bars thereof.

, 7. An attachment for a tractor comprising a pair of rearwardlyconvergent plow members,

spaced means connected with said members and with the tractor frame'forindependently swinga-bly supporting said members from the tractor framewith the inner ends of said members disposed beneath the tractor frame,spaced means connected with :said members and with the tractor frame forselectively raising or lowering said plowmembers, a pair of shaker meanseach including a plurality of spaced lbars, each of said shaker meansbeing carried-by .and extending rearwardly from a plow member, a commonoperating means .for said pair of shaker means, means for connectingsaid common operating means for the pair of shaker means to the take-offof the tractor, each of said bars being provided with upwardly curvedrear portions, .said rear portions being arranged in differenthorizontal planes, and each of said shaker means including bracesarranged between the bars thereof.

ROBERT .J. MCCLENNY.

